Survivors of the armed violence in the communes of Bukeye and Mbuye have been benefiting from psychosocial support since August 2012. The two communes are located in the northern province of Muramvya and were highly affected by the war due to their proximity to the Kibira National Reserve which was used as a base by rebel groups. CEDAC seeks to heal the scars in this region through its peer support work scheme, generously supported by Action On Armed Violence (AOAV) and the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR).

A 2 days-visit was held from the 2 to 4 October 2012. The purpose of the excursion was to assess the competence of peer support workers and guide them where they were facing difficulties. The team was made up of Mr. Macauley CISR trauma recovery expert along with the operations coordinator, supervisor and the communal administrator. During the field work, 12 peer support workers (6 in each commune) were visited and evaluated at survivor’s homes.

It was evident that survivors are comfortable with the peer support workers (PSWs) and have established a good relationship. From their observations, the team continues to believe that PSWs can really be a source of trauma recovery. PSW stimulates conversation in order to help survivors make informed life decisions or provide them with logistical guidance to access services. Being a PSW is challenging because some survivors needs are very specific or they face difficulty in accessing the necessary technical assistance. PSWs reported the following problematic situations: severe trauma and mental health issues, in one particular health care case a woman’s genital parts were destroyed by a group of soldiers who raped her at aged nine; physical disabilities including single or double leg amputations; social cases; and land related conflicts.

Given CEDAC’s resources and specific mandate of providing psychosocial support, some of these cases need to be referred to other institutions or non-governmental organisations better equipped to provide the necessary services. Bearing this in mind, CEDAC will establish strategic partnership with other entities to ensure that the needs of survivors who lay outside the project focus are been addressed.

The survivors have also demonstrated an interest to the PSW that CEDAC establish a project for income generating activities to form collectives and offer a more exhaustive reintegration programme.

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Victim Assistance

Our vision

CEDAC vision is a peaceful and sustainable developed world. Some of the organisation's members have directly participated in armed conflict, while others have been victims of conflict through their indirect participation. CEDAC wants to interlink all victims of conflict within and across borders. Our vision seeks to eliminate conflict and sustain peace by creating means of reintegration for ex-combatants and others indirectly affected by conflict.

Our mission

Our mission is to support all victims of armed conflict. We seek to reduce armed violence through job creation, as well as offering other types of victim assistance such as psychosocial support to facilitate reintegration into society.

Our Staff

Ex-combatants

CEDAC runs initiatives to redress the lack of projects aimed at female ex-combatants. Read more

CEDAC values

At CEDAC, we hold our values of transparency, tolerance and honesty in the highest regard, because without these values we would not be able to survive as a not-for profit aid organisation. For example, without transparency our finical supporters, those involved in our projects and other stakeholders would not be able to hold us accountable. This in turn leads to an environment of mistrust.

It goes without saying that we uphold and value honesty at CEDAC. We believe that acting openly and honesty is not only good practice, but is essential for working in development and aid.

CEDAC is built also under a tolerance basis. This implies a high degree of acceptance for differences of races and ethnicity, background and diversity of ideas. Thus, CEDAC is an environment where contribution is reserved for everyone.